Here We Stand
by The . L O S T . Paperclip
Summary: In the wake of Earth's destruction at the hands of the Armada, Dib and Gaz make their final defiance. Oneshot.


_Zim is out of character, but it wouldn't work if he wasn't, so you MUST forgive me. Please don't flame me!! Fire is hot._

**Here We Stand**

I cast my gaze over the decaying place one last time, remembering what it used to be. What it used to mean to me.

My home, now a pile of ash and sand, slowly retreating back into the Earth. Charred remains of what once used to be skyscrapers, deteriorating like a dying fire. The few survivors, lost and scared, search the streets for the loved ones that are probably fatally wounded, if not dead. The latter was more probable.

I look down at my hands, stained crimson as I try to stay the bloodflow. But it's not working; I'm losing her.

_There was no warning. I heard a crash coming from above, and then the lights went out. I looked over to her questioningly, but she just shrugged under the light of her game, uninterested. A rumbling sounded in the distance, getting louder by the second. Soon the floor was shaking, and that was when I knew it was coming. I screamed her name only a second before it hit._

Knowing I am merely postponing her death, I bring a hand up to wipe a stray strand of purple hair from her face. A dark smudge of soot and blood follows my touch. I see her eyes flutter open, her laboured breathing stirring the smoke into intricate patterns. Within her heavy panting I hear her voice, weak and hoarse.

Leaning closer, I can make out only one word. "S-sorry," She croaks in my ear.

_Glass fell, shattering around us, dancing in the tremors. I grabbed her wrist and forced her out of her shock, dragging her behind me. Terror coursed through my veins, and I was unsure as to whether we would survive this turmoil. We raced up the stars and into the house as fast as our legs could carry us, earning many cuts and bruises._

_All I noticed was the pain and the fear. I ripped a piece of glass out of my arm and continued, adrenaline blocking out the pain. For the moment._

_My sister's weight fell upon me and I knew that something bad had happened. But that only made me run faster, dragging her out of the zone of destruction. I dared not pause to see her wound._

I shake my head. "There's nothing to be sorry for," I assure her softly, my voice almost as hoarse as hers. Though my statement may not be true, it wasn't something she needed to think about at the present time. But that may have been the first time in my life I have heard her say that word to me.

The corner of her mouth turns up in a tiny smile. Also a first. She is about to say something when she suddenly spasms in pain. Unsure of what to do, I let her writhe on the jagged piece of metal. As much as this must be hurting her, it gives me physical pain to see her suffer so.

_We were finally out of the house. Smoke clogged up my lungs and I had to cover my face with my coat to be able to breathe. I couldn't see a foot in front of my face. The tremors had stopped, though, so I deemed it safe enough to rest._

_I heard her screech in pain, so instead of moving her I crawled over. What I saw made my heart leap into my throat and my stomach drop to my feet._

_A long piece of metal, probably from the roof, had penetrated her stomach, the point protruding from the other side. Blood was spurting out at an alarming rate... It looked like the metal had peirced an artery. Her face was contorted into a grotesque mask of pain and terror._

The spasms stop, and she takes a ragged breath. The smoke was clearing slowly, revealing more and more of the destruction that had befallen the city. My stomach turned as I saw the bodies littering the streets, charred and unidentifiable.

Footsteps crunched in the dirt, too close for comfort. I look up to see a humanoid shadow forming in the smoke. Finally breaking the barrier of fumes, I see that the figure is sickeningly familiar.

I know exactly who he is, though his form is unclear. The one I had been after for longer than I can remember. My obsession, you could call it.

Clutching my sister tighter, I brace myself for what will surely be my final moments.

_I pulled her onto my lap, holding her head in my hands. I told her that she would be okay. She was in too much pain to call me a liar._

_She knew as well as I did that she was dying._

"So," Is all the figure says. He was finally walking the streets undisguised, like I had so fervently hoped he would. But when I imagined it, I thought of him in chains, escorted by the authorities. Not like this.

I realise now what this is: The first stage of the invasion. And, like a fool, I thought I could prevent it. I've failed everyone.

How sad that everything I have worked for in life will end like this. I hate irony.

_The smoke cleared to show what remained of the street. What remained of the entire city. I could hear screams coming from far away, but they didn't concern me. All I had in my mind was my sister. There had to be a way to save her..._

But.

"It's not over until it's over," I say to the figure. The smoke clears some more to reveal his strikingly green skin and ruby eyes. That face. It makes me reel with anger. The adrenaline pumps through my veins, keeping me alive.

The alien smirks. "Yes, actually. It is over. For you, anyway." He pulls something from his pak and points it at my skull. I have a feeling that I know what it is. Instead of shooting me, though, the alien approaches. He brings the weapon down upon my head, kicking me away from my dying sister. I am in too much pain to protest.

I hear her groan, and that gives me the strength to do what I did next. I roll over and stagger to my feet, my shoulders hunched in pain, but not in defeat. My eyes are gleaming with hate as I glare at the short alien before me.

He laughs. "So, the stink-creature thinks it can fight?" He asks mockingly. Laughing, the alien brings the weapon to his sister's head. she shudders and her breathing slows. I can almost hear her heart thud towards its finale.

Our eyes lock briefly, then she turns to the alien standing above her. She meets his eyes squarely, a smile forming on her lips. "You c-can't kill me." Her voice flows on the wind, low but determined. The words are strong ones as she faces death. Not true, but in a metaphorical sense, they are truer than the weapon the alien holds to her flesh.

She will die, but she will die fighting. This is the gift she has given me, after a lifetime of ignorance and ridicule. She has given me the willpower to make this final defiance.

There is an explosion as the alien pulls the trigger. "No," I whisper as I fall to my knees. I can feel my tears fall upon numb hands. It is a sad experience, to have lost a family member, but to see someone close to you murdered is pure horror. My insides wrench violently. It feels like I'm tearing apart.

The cold metal is placed on my forehead, and my eyes open weakly to see my sisters killer hovering over me ominously. The weapon was at my skull, his finger was on the trigger.

I smile.

The alien is confused, but motions to the remains of what was once my sister. "You see? I _can_ kill you. I have destroyed the majority of the human race in one blow, so I can easily dispose of _you_," He said, the tone of his voice trying to inspire fear.

"You just don't get it," I say. "I have nothing now. Nothing to fight for. Yet I still defy you, and I will continue to defy you to the end. What my sister _meant_... was that you may be able to kill us physically, but we will weigh heavily on your soul. Our spirits will live on. And I can assure you that we will stay our defiance for the rest of eternity." My voice lowers to a whisper, and I'm not sure exactly who I'm speaking to now. The entire human race... My sister. "I give you this. Our last stand."

"Filthy human!" The alien screeched.

Then I suppose I died.


End file.
